Sh.reddit.com and old.reddit.com exactly? It’s not just a theme

Jonathan Tien (/u/ricefield on Reddit), a product manager at Reddit, has indicated that sh.reddit.com is slated to be the future default Reddit web UI. It appears to be in a testing phase at the moment and is being rolled out to some users, as per various posts about it on Reddit.

you should give http://sh.reddit.com a try and tell me what you think! (it's our next gen web platform that will soon become the default mweb experience)

- Jonathan Tien (@ricefield) on X

Relevant Reddit posts:

• Did Reddit Change The Screen Layout Today?
• What is the situation with what seems to be the new user interface redesign and is there a way to avoid it and maintain the "old new Reddit user interface"?
• What's going on with the sudden change in reddit UI?
• Is sh.reddit now the main interface?
• RES & Which version of Reddit we support

The old.reddit.com domain redirects users to Reddit’s classic desktop interface (pre-2018), bypassing any personal settings that might default to the newer layout. Similarly, new.reddit.com leads to the current interface. These options ensure that users can access their preferred version of Reddit, regardless of any personal settings.

For those who wish to consistently experience a particular interface, the "UI Changer for Reddit" Chrome extension is a handy tool. It automatically redirects all Reddit links to display the chosen interface, be it the classic (old.reddit.com), current (new.reddit.com), or the "new" new version (sh.reddit.com).

As to the VPN blocking, I cannot reproduce the issue. I am not blocked on Reddit when I use a VPN on old.reddit.com, new.reddit.com, or www.reddit.com.